James Ernest

How to get people to do good things: coerce, persuade—or agree

Better to find allies and change the culture than sell your soul in an effort to control others’ behavior

One Ring to Bind Them All: Conservative Christians and the Theocratic Impulse

For conservative White Christians in the USA, theocracy is the Ring of Power, and abortion is their reason for wanting to use it. But it has its own purposes.

All day long (Romans 10:21)

“ALL DAY LONG I HAVE HELD OUT MY HANDS TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE.” —Romans 10:21, citing Isaiah 65:2 How to feel about the recalcitrant? (Here is just another lesson in the long course in imitatio Dei that is the Christian life.) They just don’t get it. Are they incapable of understanding? Do theyContinue reading “All day long (Romans 10:21)”

The choice we make (Psalm 1)

Psalm 1 is about two kinds of people: wicked and righteous. The point is not polarization (setting up an Us versus a Them, two fixed and opposed groups) but moral choice: the whole point is that we can, we inevitably do, decide which type to be, and we are being urged to be one wayContinue reading “The choice we make (Psalm 1)”

Hiatus

My posts have been sparse lately. Work has been consuming, and sometimes one takes a break.

Ecology as doxology (Psalm 104)

To understand the structure of the cosmos and expound its workings in a way that acknowledges its creator is to be filled with wonder and overflow with praise.

Living between divine love and human iniquity (Psalm 36)

Abiding in God’s love does not make us pious dopes who think (or pretend) that everything is always wonderful. It enables us to see evil clearly, call it what it is, and understand that in the end it is powerless before the power of Love.

The President and the Fourth

July 4 is not about celebrating the president, but it’s good to have a president who understands and supports the values that July 4 celebrates.

On observing July 4 as an American Christian

When the Fourth of July falls on a Sunday, Christians need to be careful about how they relate patriotism and worship.

Defining human existence (Psalm 139)

To be is to be known by God. God’s omniscience is knowledge not only of everything but of everyone. There is no one whom God does not know. My existence resides in the fact that God knows me. My identity is this: I am who God knows that I am. And since God speaks, andContinue reading “Defining human existence (Psalm 139)”